The GOP's new tool: Huffington Post

When Tom Coburn wanted to pitch his criticism of the Democrats’ health care plan last month, the senator’s office considered sympathetic media outlets like The Wall Street Journal and the conservative blog RedState.

Instead, the Oklahoma Republican went with The Huffington Post.

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Despite its liberal leanings, Republican member and aides have begun heading to The Huffington Post to talk up their views.

Arianna Huffington, who co-founded the eponymous site four years ago this month, said that increased Republican engagement “is a reflection of our traffic, our brand, and the fact that we are increasingly seen ... as an Internet newspaper, not positioned ideologically in terms of how we cover the news.”

That's not exactly how the Republicans see it. While GOP aides say they're treated fairly by Huffington Post reporters, they know that their views are likely to take a beating from the site’s bloggers, commenters and headline writers.

But the opportunity for impact is irresistible.

Just as Democrats learned to love — or at least understand — the Drudge Report, Republicans flock to The Huffington Post largely because of the site’s broad reach. In April, The Huffington Post brought in a record 8.8 million unique visitors, according to Nielsen — a number that includes quite a few mainstream media journalists and cable news producers.

“With The Huffington Post, particularly, we see a lot of value in engaging with people who wouldn’t necessarily be inclined to agree with our point of view,” said Coburn press secretary John Hart, who added that it's one of a handful of sites that can have an instant impact on the national debate.

“HuffPo and [Talking Points Memo] really are the assignment editors for many in the Washington press corps — particularly the cables,” said Brian Rogers, who was a spokesman for Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign. “That’s not just a Republican hack saying it — that’s speaking as a press guy fielding calls and e-mails daily from the MSM that start with, ‘Did you see this thing on Huffington Post?’ They were effective and they wasted a lot of our time.”

While conservatives like Tony Blankley and David Frum have written for Huffington Post in the past, Republican Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) recently became the first active member of Congress to blog — just after winning the site’s “Hottest Freshman” contest.

In his post, Schock wrote that while most Huffington Post readers “didn't vote Republican,” he was determined to take a bipartisan approach in Congress. Similarly, Coburn made sure to mention the left’s critique of the Democrats' health care plan in his piece — and also emphasized bipartisanship.

They won't be the last Republicans to post at the site.

During the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, Huffington invited House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) to blog. Said Cantor: “I can’t say we enjoy being on your site, but we seem to be on there a lot.”

“The reality is that at the end of the day, like them or dislike them, sites like The Huffington Post, Plum Line, Salon, and others can drive news,” said Brad Dayspring, press secretary for Cantor. “For that reason alone, being responsive and even proactive — especially on wedge issues — has become more prevalent as political communications has evolved.”

Michael Steel, press secretary for House Republican leader John Boehner, said that while there isn’t a “deliberate strategy,” he’s noticed “Republican aides being sure to engage with liberal websites like Huffington Post — just because for no other reason than they drive a lot of cable coverage.”

With that kind of cooperation from the right, it’s not surprising that Republican points of view have shown up on the site recently.

After House Republicans met with President Obama last month, GOP aides took shots via The Huffington Post, with one source describing Obama as “thin-skinned” in the meeting. While there were blistering critiques of Republicans among the 4,420 comments that followed, the perception of Obama as “thin-skinned” still seeped out into political conversation.